Ill-timed Arrival

[D'gellin]

Degellin's eyes flickered across the eggs, willing another to hatch with his gaze alone. The first three dragons had hatched and impressed so abruptly that it almost seemed as though it had all been a fleeting dream. But the sands were hot, stinging at his feet and making him begin to sweet from more than anxiety, so it all must be real. He craned his neck, looking for a sign, any subtle sign, of a crack. But the occasional twitching of eggs made it hard to concentrate. And right as he moved his penetrating stare across the clutch, two eggs hatched in the opposite direction. His head snapped over just in time to see the blue wriggled out of its little prison.

But the mournful cry that came from the dragonet disconcerted Degellin. Why was it sad? It seemed to be waiting for someone. Oh no - were the candidates supposed to go to the dragons? No, that can't be right, the dragons had all gone to their impressors. Trying not to confuse himself or get worked up over wondering if he was doing this whole candidate thing right, Degellin distracted himself with the newly hatched brown. His stomach gave an excited lurch - it was headed towards the boys semi-circle! And as the brown carefully made his way over another blue hatched. Then the brown and the blue were tenatively creeping in the direction of the males.

The gravity that had crushed down on him throughout the first bit of the hatching seemed to gradually lighten at the sight of the dragons. The storm? A simple bump in the road. His cuts and bruises? Others had suffered worse. Uncertainty? What uncertainty?

Even as the two dragons veered off-course and impressed girls instead, followed shortly after by the creeling blue, Degellin couldn't find a reason to be unhappy. Anticipation flared in his chest. The reality of the situation suddenly dawned on him. He was really here on the practically mythical Hatching Grounds. He was living the grand stories that Harpers had sung for generations. One of these dragons could be his! It was like...like...he struggled to fully express how amazing this whole event was but couldn't. How could you put it in words? It couldn't be contained in one word. He could try though - he'd call it amazoutstaterifficastic. Because it wasn't one word; it was some freakishly mutated hybrid child of four words.

Yeah; this was definetly amazoutasterifficastic.

_______________

However, Trilia couldn't agree with Degellin's sentiments. Watching the Hatching was like having all your dreams dangling tantalizingly in your face and then having them snatched away before you could grab them. Actually, it was exactly like that in a much more than metaphorical sense. She was torn between the excitement of the Hatching (which seemed to swell in anyone who ever attended one), her helpless delight for those who'd impressed, her overwhelming jealousy that they could Stand while she couldn't, and the vile taste she got in her mouth whenever she looked at her Weyrleader and Weyrwoman.

She applauded half-heartedly when someone impressed, though it was quiet and she was almost certain it couldn't be heard over the roar of the storm. That suited her fine though, as it was only out of grudging happiness for them that she showed any positive emotion. Trilia had to keep clinging to her distaste for her dismissal to make her strong. Though she felt quite pathetic in doing so. How could anyone have gotten their emotions as jumbled as hers?

Q'tris gave the new weyrlings a much more generous applause than his daughter. As was impossible not to, he really couldn't help thinking back to when he Impressed Minth, and the good will towards the young riders nearly doubled. It was easy not to worry about anything during a Hatching. He still worried over Trilia but everything bad seemed to melt away at the beauty of the event. This should be a happy day! If Hatchings make you this enthusiastic, mine, I wish there was one every day. Minth sighed in contentment, her humming increasing in her and Q'tris' mutual happiness.

Q'tris gave a bark of a laugh, unable to keep the smile off his face at the idea. "And have Pern overflow with dragons? I love you more than myself, dear-heart, but we'd run out of Holders if there was a Hatching that often."

[kati]

Anah watched as everyone around her seemed to be impressing. It was so wonderful to watch as each dragon went to it's bonded, even though none came to her, not yet. But after a while, dark thoughts filled her head. Would she, after all that work, even get a dragon of her own. Some people didn't ever impress, after all. Some just stood there until the last egg hatched, but that egg wouldn't go to the person, but rather a different one. Yes, that last person would be her, even after being interrogated, she wouldn't get a dragon of her own. After all that hard work, after waiting forever, she would never have a dragon of her own.

----------

Rytia sat and watched each dragon go to someone, and the reality still hadn't hit her. She wasn't going to get a dragon, she wasn't allowed to, it didn't hit her, didn't cross her mind! She just smiled as she watched, what would you call it, the mircale of life? Close enough. No, the Miracle of Hatching. That was it. Because the dragons were alive before they came out of the egg. So it must be the Miracle of Hatching. She was on her feet as sitting down wasn't helping her any. She had on a smile, that very few ever got to see.

[M'kel]

Unconsciously, the Weyrleader had moved to sit on the lowest bench in the Stands to watch the rest of the Hatching. Now that most of the candidates had arrived alive and well, his attention was focused entirely upon the new dragonets breaking their way out into Pern. He was unknowingly analyzing each new member of the Weyr, attempting to judge their potential in future Threadfights. There was a well-structured brown, now, and the Weyrleader shifted in anticipation of a pending Impression to one of the lads. Brownriders often made excellent Wingseconds or Wingleaders, after all.

However, the brown, and then both blues, proceeded to the girls. M'kel's eyes widened at this highly unusual set of pairings. A female brownrider was rare indeed, not to mention the infrequency of female blueriders. And here, three had Impressed at once. With the storm already creating a mood of anxiousness, this was highly troubling. Perhaps it was the storm that was confusing the dragonets, pairing the males with females...that was how M'kel would justify it.



Suddenly, the momentary stillness was shattered as a bronze wing burst from an egg near the centre of the Clutch. This was accompanied by a particularly strong gust of wind, with which a strange howling sound filled the Hatching Grounds. However, this bronze appeared to be the first unaffected by the storm, for he stepped lightly out of the remains of his shell and stood regally upon the sand. His whirling eyes glanced about the Grounds as he remained silhouetted, attempting to choose a route. His reddish-tinged bronze hide flashed as he turned, beginning to stride towards the lads. He was quite large for a bronze, and already, muscles rippled underneath the glistening hide.

An egg burst in his path, surprising the bronze. With a flash of lightning lighting the Grounds soon after, he cowered slightly, then straightened and continued on. The burst egg had revealed a diminutive, leaf-coloured green. She sat dazed upon the sand for a moment, shaking her large head as if attempting to clear the sound of the wind. However, the confusion in her eyes disappeared when they fixed upon the bronze, and she eagerly clambered to her feet. As he proceeded to strut past, she hopefully bounded forward to accompany him. Annoyed, the bronze brushed her aside and kept striding purposefully towards the lads. Hurt, the green slunk away to the edge of the circle of eggs, huddling there and shooting wary glances at the girls.

The bronze stepped with determination to the edge of the semi-circle of lads. His hunger was becoming quite intense, and he began to walk more quickly, eyeing all of the lads in deep consideration before passing by. Finally, his whirling eyes fixed upon Raixeh, and he darted forward in triumph to gaze up at his choice. Your Lamorkth has chosen well! We shall be an undefeatable team, especially after being fed. The colours of his tone were tinged with supreme pleasure, as well as undeniable hunger.

The side of an egg next to the green suddenly fell away, the crack having widened sufficiently, and a brown dragonet rolled out unceremoniously. He picked himself up hastily and glared at the green dragonet, as if it was her fault that his entrance had been so unimpressive. His hide was a dark chocolate colour, and he was quite a large brown. Flicking his wings to free them of egg goop and shell shards, he began striding snootily towards the girls. He stopped quite abruptly, staring in confusion at the line of hopefuls facing him. Turning his head from side to side as if different angles would make sense of the situation, he snorted in concern. Finally, he turned and began walking with less confidence in the other direction.

The green dragonet had been quite startled by the arrival of the brown out of the egg right beside her. His nasty look didn't help anything, and she was left quite flustered by his departure, snorting at his disappearing form. Straightening, the green gathered her resolve. It was time to end this silly waiting. She stepped forward and moved towards the opposite end of the line of girls, as she had had plenty of time to peruse the closer end. Her eyes locked quite suddenly upon Anya's, and she scurried forward in delight. There you are, my one! Your Lyonesth knew that she would find you, Anya, and you are as perfect as she knew you would be. She headbutted her new rider playfully.

By this time, the brown dragonet had made it quite far across the sand. He still seemed quite uncertain about his decision, though, for he kept glancing back in the direction from which he had come. In fact, he was so distracted by glancing over his shoulder that he blundered right into Aldric, (please don't mind the mini-godmoding) knocking the lad right over. Upset, the brown dragonet stared down at the person he was now partially on top of, but his whirling eyes immediately flashed blue in relieved joy. A'dric! How did you get down there? Your Mordreth has been searching everywhere for you, and you are lying down? He snorted in disbelief.

At that moment, claws appeared in a crack of an egg near the girls. The crack was widened as the dragonet within prised the halves of her shell apart, revealing a stunning jade green hide streaked with lime green in a Terran tiger-like appearance. As she straightened and shook her wings out, her head raised haughtily upon her elegant neck and scanned the Grounds. She began to prowl along the line of girls, her whirling eyes glinting off the hopefuls. However, she soon reached the end of the line and had not made a choice. The green dragonet didn't even glance towards the lads. Instead, she shuddered as thunder rippled through the air, and her eyes began to whirl in a more frenzied nature.

Suddenly, she darted forward towards the entrance to the Grounds. Before any could react, she had plunged out into the slushy hail, and a chunk of ice simultaneously struck her head. Bugling in pain and shock, the green dragonet retreated back into the Grounds, ducking her head low to the ground and raising her wings to protect herself from further attack. Her insistent bugling rose in pitch as she made to dart forward once more. Her one was not in the Grounds.

[kati]

A'dric blinked in surprise as he was quite rammed into, and then knocked over, by, OH MY GOSH! His very own dragon. So-sorry Mordreth. I fell, I mean, you knocked me over. He though, thinking this new connection was really odd, but some how natural. Well, next time don't fall down, and feed me A'dric. A'dric nodded and, after diffuculty getting up, he lead his Mordreth over to the food.

[riza]

Riza had not risen when the gut-lurching call of the Queen dragon erupted from the Hatching Grounds, alerting all in the Weyr that the Clutch was ready to hatch. She had been weeping for a long time over the incident at the Analysis and couldn't find the strength to remove herself from her bed. She was curled up, mourning the critical mistake she had made that day when she had been asked that ever-so-important question. She had just been so fatigued from stressing and was so startled by the way M'kel had been acting towards the other candidates that she had froze. As she had been told by the her old neighbour that often gave her advice back in the village, "With a numb mind one cannot convey what their heart bleeds to say." She had warned Riza many times that she let her fear take ahold of her tongue much too often. So as a result, after experiencing another episode of being stuck dumb, Riza had failed the Analysis and had lost all chance of bonding with a dragon. The storm seemed to sympathize with her as it howled and tore relentlessly at the surroundings. She wished nothing more than to seize Sitareh by her golden locks and throw her to the ground so she could see the world from the Weyr-folks perspective from once considering all she did was treat them like dirt. The storm continued to rage as the majority of the Weyr risked life and limb to make it to the Hatching. Riza still refused to go. She couldn't bare watching as so many candidates were matched with the gorgeous dragons and marched proudly away with their life-mates.

As time wore on with the relentless storm, a feeling began to stir inside of her. She felt suddenly hot and uncomfortable and pulled back her covers to sit up. Something seemed strange. She couldn't help but feel like something beckoned her out into the storm. Pulled by an invisible rope, Riza tread slowly to the precipice over-looking the Grounds and watched the hail littering the grassy floor, the herdbeast cowering under what little protection they could find, and lastly the few remaining Weyr-folk who hadn't made it to the Hatching yet, hastily jog from here to there. The Hatching ground was easily visible from her sleeping area, lit by many glows and Riza was quite sure she had seen something move near the entrance. She squinted hard through the downpour, trying to make out what it was. It kept moving from the inside of the Grounds to the outside then hastily back in, as if trying to leave but being unable to with the harsh weather brutally attacking it whenever it attempted to venture forth. Riza took a step forward, squinting harder than ever until a light caught the glistening hide of a small green dragonette, persistently trying to get out of the Grounds. Riza was suddenly clenched with fear as the little dragon was assaulted by hail stone after hail stone. Why was it's life-partner not helping it? I'm sure they had brought food and water inside, she reasoned to herself but continued to worry as nobody went to aid it. Finally making her decision, because apparently it's life-partner was to cruel to do it themselves, Riza charged out into the maelstrom, arms out in front of her to protect her face, heading at a fast pace towards the Entrance to the Hatching Grounds. The stone steps were incredibly slippery and she fell hard on her tailbone twice, but the fear drove her forward, ignoring the pain that wrenched her frail body. The hail targeted her too and struck maliciously at her back and arms, screaming at her to return to the safety of her bedroom. But again she ignored the pain and continued her flight to aid the wailing creature. So close to the entrance and the little glowing green dragonette, Riza slipped on the carpet of hail and fell forward hard onto her stomach. The wind was knocked out of her and she gasped in pain. She held her aching stomach and tried to hoist herself up and keep going but the blinding pain seemed to much. Slowly she willed her lungs to relax and pretended that the pain was ebbing away. The horrid chunks of hail was another incentive to keep going, but not as much as the poor darling crying out in pain before her. So, with what little strength remained, Riza pulled herself upright and stumbled the rest of the way to the Hatching Grounds and collapsed onto the first piece of sheltered land she found, breathing heavily, a bit of blood leaking out of the corner of her mouth. She smiled despite the pain as she looked at the little dragonette and whispered in surprisingly soft tones, "Little dear, you mustn't go out there... I don't want you to get hurt!"

[Shikai]

While the other candidates were consumed by awe, excitement, and for some, pain as a result of their recent injuries, Anya was rather annoyed that she had to stand still. She glanced around the massive ring of candidates, all forming a more or less perfect circle, their feet motionless on the hot sands, save for those whose footwear was not doing an adequate job at keeping the heat from becoming unbearable. Anya was filled with excitement and joy at witnessing the hatching of so many baby dragons, stumbling out of their shells to behold Pern for the first time with their jeweled eyes. She wanted to dance and race about, to see the dragons up close! She wanted to move! Yet frustrating as it was, she knew she could not, so she begrudgingly remained in place, although the hatching provided a good distraction.

Her smile flickered as she saw the way that many of the hatchlings seemed…lost. What was wrong? Yet the dragons seemed, fortunately, to find their ways to suitable people. So early in the hatching, Anya was not yet worried about the fact that no dragon had as much as looked her way. In fact, it seemed that once each dragonet got its bearings, it found its human rather quickly.

Surprise accompanied excitement as two blues and a brown made their way toward the girls in a relatively close period of time. Anya had thought that blues, and especially browns, were more partial to boys, but these dragons begged to differ! As she did not know many of the other candidates, she was not sure who the girls were, but she was happy for them all the same. It was strange and moving to see the joy each dragon caused their partner, and Anya wondered what it was like. Would she experience it? The candidate certainly hoped so, for she did rather have her heart set on becoming a dragonrider. And when one saw those who had impressed, who wouldn’t?

She had no real preference as to color. A strong, healthy blue, such as the other two girls had impressed, would be fun. But then, she could just as easily see herself astride a speedy green. If a dragon deemed her worthy of being its life partner, she would hardly give a thought to the color of its hide.

Anya clapped her hands together cheerfully as the first bronze of the clutch made his entrance. As with his brothers and sisters, he was a fine fellow, although bronzes always seemed a bit arrogant. Equal applause from Anya met the hatching of a green soon after, and her eyes couldn’t help but linger on the creature’s beautiful hide. While her proportions were unusual, her hide was of a brilliance Anya had never thought could be found on a living creature. The only comparison her mind could link it to was a time when she had been outside and chanced to look at a nearby tree, just as the wind mustered its strength to sway the leaves. While the hatching cavern was certainly not touched by the sun, the dragon’s hide was just as those sun-bathed leaves had been. Beautiful.

Anya scowled at the bronze as he rudely ignored the green, leaving her to find her human partner on her own. They were so young, and all were confused. It made sense for a green to seek the help of a bronze. Why did he have to be so mean? His impression was met with less than enthusiastic applause, but Anya was not one to hold a grudge, and her annoyance with the bronze quickly evaporated due to the cheerfulness of the occasion. Mentally she urged the green, being, now, the only dragon on the sands, on to her rider.

Once again eyeing the green’s hide, she was nearly as surprised as the green when the egg beside her suddenly burst to reveal a brown. He, too, seemed rather rude, and while Anya was mildly annoyed with him as well, at least his hatching served to get the green on the move again.

Having been watching the green for a while, Anya turned her attention to the brown. He was heading for the girls, oddly enough, as his clutchbrother had. However, this time it was clearly a mistake, for it was not long before he turned back to move toward the boys after puzzling over his predicament.

Suddenly, Anya was aware that the green had neared her end of the candidates, and, excited to be so near to a hatchling, Anya focused her attention on her once more. Yet she had never expected the attention to be returned.

As the two locked eyes, the beautiful green scurried toward her, and the most wonderful voice sounded in her head. There you are, my one! Your Lyonesth knew that she would find you, Anya, and you are as perfect as she knew you would be.

Anya was ecstatic, and happier than she could remember ever being before. She laughed as she was nearly knocked over, unprepared, as she had been, for her dragon’s playful gesture. So you…you’re my dragon then, aren’t you? And I’m your rider! She confirmed, overjoyed with her realization. But of course, mine! Lyonesth replied happily, tilting her head to one side as she ‘spoke’. “That means…I should feed you! You’re hungry! Come on then, let’s go!” Anya replied verbally, as she began to feel the effects of Lyonesth’s birth hunger through their mental link.

You’re so thoughtful![/color] Lyonesth glowingly replied, as she trotted alongside her rider. In Anya’s excitement, she has assumed a pace near jogging, and she had to force herself to slow down. But it was nearly as challenging to slow down now as it had been to stand still earlier, because she had a new and promising life to look forward to with Lyonesth, and Anya was ready to race right into it.

[Felina]

I am not as a herdbeast with a treat in front of its nose, to be willed around by simple emotions! Felina thought fiercely, shuddering slightly at the image of a herdbeast, vile and malicious, looking at her as though she was, in herself, a treat. A punching bag, a scapegoat, on whom to beat out its emotions. Her fingers reached automatically to the scars that ran across her face, marring what may have been beautiful. But beauty was nothing that Felina could personally achieve, but only for her work, for her Craft, never again in herself. She was not a woman, in whom men saw one worth being with, but only a figure dragged about by the luck which she could never seem to control. Heart-wrenching sorrow wafted up in her; what was it that had put these thoughts in her mind? Who was the grand puppeteer that pulled at the strings that ran her life, her body, her mind, her very being?

Was this not, then, what she had hoped to avoid? For, unbidden, emotions picked her up like a rag doll and dashed her against herself, a whirling maelstrom of those thoughts which she could not quiet. Surely, surely this was only the stress of the Hatching; for too long had she detached herself from the world, and how could she possibly be beckoned back into the stream of it now? She shook her head, clearing it of images that crossed it against her will. Yes, surely it was the Hatching, for she had now watched so many Impress while she was left Standing in the burning Sands, to wait and to watch, but never to feel.

To feel was to know pain, and instinctively, she blocked it all out. The rising fear that she would be found unsuitable by any of the dragons; the flash of dread in which the imaginary version of herself Impressed a gold and was forced to fight with agenothree; the brief sense of disappointment in which she realized that Salem had not Impressed the first bronze of the clutch; the crawling of her skin with the eerily mournful cry of the green dragonet who could not seem to find her life-mate; the freezing cold which raised bumps on her skin but left the pitted scars the same as ever. That was all that she was; a scarred, black lump of rock fit for naught but ill luck. A dragon could never be hers, even if her heart ached with the solemn beauty of the browns and the dazzling brilliance of the blues. Even the greens were shimmering wonders, and the bronze which would never have given her a first glance gleamed with a light which she could never possess.

[M'kel]

The jade green at the entrance to the Grounds had paused, tilting her head to the side as if listening to something. Her wings were still splayed in front of her to deflect hailstones, though she had not left the shelter of the Grounds for a second time yet. A thin sliver of ichor marked the top of her head where the chunk of ice had struck her, but the fierce whirling of her eyes had dimmed somewhat. Suddenly, the reason for this sudden change became visible, as a girl stumbled into the Grounds and collapsed.

Before the girl was able to finish delivering her garbled message, the green dragonet was at her side. Her wings had folded back, and she hesitantly nuzzled her snout in the girl's hair. Rizamine! You were hurt in the cold to come to your Morvyth. She should have gone to you... Her voice was soft and frightened, and her whirling eyes were still flashing red and orange. Her wings extended once more to enclose her new rider, as if she could protect her from further harm with the thin membranes.

On the sands, another egg had given a final jolt, and a bronze leg burst out of the side of the oval. Through careful force, the rest of the egg's side was broken away, and a bronze dragonet cautiously exited it. His dark bronze hide was flecked with gold, and his movements were hesitant. Rather small for a bronze, the dragonet seemed confused by the howling wind rushing through the cavern. He took a few steps forward, eyes fixed on the less intimidating sand, then leaped back behind an egg as a strange shadow shifted across his path. Another egg had rolled over in front of the bronze, spilling a blue dragonet out onto the sand.

The screeching blue pulled himself from the clinging shards of his shell, highly unsettled by his entrance. His sapphire hide glistened, and the diminutive blue scratched at the remains of his shell, suddenly uncertain as to how to proceed. His long neck extended curiously upward for a better glimpse of the Grounds and a path to follow. The bronze, who had been observing the scene from his crouched position, decided that the blue dragonet was nothing to fear. Thus, he stepped out from his hiding place, boldy confident as if he hadn't been scared moments earlier, and proceeded towards the boys.

The sudden appearance of the bronze dragonet caused the blue to cry out and back hastily into the remaining half of his egg. Ignoring this, the bronze dragonet made his way to the line of lads. His head jerked from side to side, although he attempted to maintain a semblance of confidence. His search was halted abruptly, and he scampered a little too quickly to crouch by Aido. Mine! Your Pellaeth is here. There is nothing to be afraid of, now. From the colours of his tone, it was difficult to determine if he was referring to himself or his rider. Perhaps you could help with his hunger, too?

Hunger was the only thing hounding the blue dragonet's mind as well, for he could no longer remain hidden in the remnants of his shell. Reluctantly, he crept out and slunk across the sand to the line of boys. He was creeling plaintively, obviously wishing to move farther forward, but he was unable to proceed. His whirling eyes locked upon Barec's, pleading him to assist. B'rec! Please come to your Dagonth. He hungers, but there is too much fear...

[tina]

As soon as she knew the Hatching was about to start, she'd run towards the sands with no second thoughts, not even considering the giant hail pounding mercilessly at anyone out there. It didn't take her long to wish she had some kind of protection, but she knew she wasn't turning back; she was determined to Impress. Plus, at the questioning she recalled Thread being compared to a storm. If she hid from hail there was no way she could fly Thread on a dragon.

With this reasoning she did her best to ignore the chunks of ice hitting her relentlessly, keeping her mind and vision focused on the Grounds in front of her. It didn't work too well, though. She could feel the throbbing where she'd been hit, her arms especially, as she'd put them over her head at some point without realizing it. She managed to push the pain to the back of her mind, at least, until she stumbled onto the Hatching Grounds. Then there wasn't a goal to focus on.

Wait. Yes there was. The eggs. She could concentrate on them, the young dragons inside, she could even try to guess what color she'd Impress. Yes, that might work. She did just that, watching all the eggs, wondering what color was in each, and paying close attention as they rocked, cracked, and finally a dragon came out. She watched each one as it struggled to overcome the confusion of the storm and find the right person. So far none had come near her, but she hadn't expected one of the first ones, anyway. She just didn't want to be one of those whom wouldn't Impress at all.

---

It was just a storm. It was like rain, only frozen. And bigger. And.. Okay, this was getting nowhere. He shook his head to clear his thoughts, concentrated on the idea that it was just rain, and ran, arms over his head like others had done. He wasn't going to be held back by a little storm. Of course, this thought had occurred only moments before a chunk of hail slammed into part of his head that wasn't covered. Of all the rotten luck! And it hurt pretty bad. But he ignored it. A bronze dragon, remember?

If he could just make it from here to the Hatching Grounds, he was sure he could Impress a bronze. He had never doubted that. He ran as fast as he could, trying to keep his mind on the dragon he was sure he'd Impress, imagining it as an adult, a large, strong bronze. He could feel the ice chunks bruising his arms. It wasn't working. But a few less had been hitting him since he increased his pace. He had to maintain that speed, then; it was the best way to escape with as little injury as possible.

When he finally felt his sandals hit the warm sands of the Hatching Grounds, he sighed with relief, then winced at the sight of the bruises on his arm, plus the feeling of the spot on his head that'd been struck by hail. He managed to turn his attention to the eggs, though, which were rocking already. He hurried to the group of other boys, keeping his eyes trained on the Clutch.

He watched as the first egg hatched. A brown. Then a green hatched. He watched them both curiously, trying to figure out what was wrong. Was the storm disorientating them? They seemed rather... lost. Then, suddenly, the brown was in front of him, looking straight into his eyes.

Your Toruth needs you! He is starving and was lost, but now he is found, because he has found you! The sudden words in his mind startled him, and for a second he seemed confused, then remembered that was how dragons communicated. The throbbing of his head made it hard to think. The small dragon was nudging him, he realized, and hurried to escort the hungry creature to food, though had to slow down almost immediately so the hatchling could keep up.

'I'm sorry. I'll get you food right now, Toruth.' It felt weird, both that he was apologizing, and that he was doing so without actually talking. Surely he'd get used to it, though. And then the throbbing was back on his mind. It was going to drive him insane! But Toruth first, hail injuries later.

[D'gellin]

There was a sort of rhythm to the way The Hatching moved. An egg cracked as the wind picked up, thunder crashed on queue with another new dragon. If Degellin listened very intently and used just a bit of imagination, he could almost hear a song in the storm. His foot tapped, tentative of the scorching sands, in tune with the storm, thoroughly enjoying himself. There - he grinned as a brown hatched at just the right time. Bam - impression was made by a green.

Were there any ballads about storms? Degellin racked his brain. He couldn't think of one but if there wasn't then there should be. Maybe he could write one. Pff; he chuckled to himself at the very idea. He enjoyed the Harper Hall for the most part but as of yet he hadn't found his 'niche' and sitting around writing ballads certainly couldn't be it.

There was a moment of conflict where a green tried to go out in the storm and got hurt but, thankfully, someone turned up to help her. And impressed apparently. Degellin unclenched his fists, previously unaware that he'd become so tense while battling with whether he should have gone and helped or not. Everything was okay now but he still couldn't unwind; what if more dragons went looking for Theirs out in the storm? He winced away from the idea, mentally reprimanding the eggs at large. You better stay inside the Hatching Sands. If any one of you even thinks about stepping out there I'll...do something. Vaguely he realized none of them could probably hear his thoughts unless they chose to themselves. Well then, that was their loss.

Lightning flash - a bronze hatched. Clatter of hail - a blue tumbled out of his shell. There were more impressions but none to Degellin. Any doubts of impression were brushed away before they could properly form. His was probably just waiting for the most opportune moment. Maybe it would make some kind of dramatic appearance that would send the whole stadium aflutter with awe. ...Maybe it wouldn't. But it was a worthwhile fantasy to dwell on in the interval between hatching eggs. His foot continued to tap with subconscious merriment in time to the storm.